OS Feeds Most Popular Stories

Rogers Caves, Offers 6GB iPhone 3G Monthly Data Plan for $30

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:38:04 -0700

Canucks screamed, Rogers listened. Word from the North this morning is that Rogers will be offering a promotional 6GB data plan for $30 bucks a month if you activate a three-year contract before August 31?not the unlimited data we Yanks will be using, but pretty close. Click on for the full release from the horse's mouth. [Rogers]

Calling all iPhone 3G fans!

Select Rogers Plus stores to open early coast-to-coast on July 11 Launch promotions to include limited time 6GB data offer

TORONTO, July 9 /CNW/ - In anticipation of iPhone 3G launch on July 11, Rogers Wireless today announced plans to open the doors of select Rogers Plus retail stores across Canada in advance of regular hours. Starting at 8:00 am July 11, Canadians will be able to purchase the new iPhone 3G at special launch day events to be held at six Rogers Plus stores across the country. Be among the first in Canada to get the next generation iPhone 3G and have the choice of a 6GB data plan through a limited time promotional price offer. "As Canada's leading wireless carrier, Rogers is excited to bring iPhone 3G to Canadians even sooner, allowing our customers to be amongst the first in the world to experience this amazing mobile innovation," says John Boynton, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. "To celebrate its launch on Canada's fastest wireless network, we're rolling out the red carpet with special events at six Rogers Plus stores and a limited time price promotional data offer from coast-to-coast." iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast(*) as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK.

Rogers Launch Promotions —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—- The following Rogers Plus stores in these cities will open their doors at 8:00 a.m. (all times local) on Friday, July 11 for advance purchases of the Apple iPhone 3G: Toronto: 112-10 Dundas Street East Montreal: 1015 rue St. Catherine Ouest Ottawa: 690 Bank Street Halifax: Unit 265, 7001 Mumford Road Calgary: 5244 Falsbridge Gate, NE Vancouver: 2097 West Broadway

Customers attending launch day events at these Rogers Plus stores will be treated to a free early bird breakfast and have a chance to win Rogers Wireless prizes. Effective July 11, and as a limited time promotional offer for customers who activate by August 31 on a three year contract, a data-only offering of 6GB of data for $30 per month is being made available that can be added to any in-market voice plan. For example, with 6GB of data, iPhone 3G users can visit 35,952 web pages, or send and receive 157,286 emails, or watch 6,292 minutes of YouTube videos each and every month.(xx) New Canadian iPhone 3G customers will also have the choice to select from Rogers Wireless' existing voice and smartphone data plans and/or additional features to best suit their needs, or from Rogers Wireless' value bundled plans specifically for iPhone 3G. Existing Rogers Wireless customers can keep their current voice service plan and select a separate data plan to meet their needs or choose from other plans after checking their individual upgrade eligibility. Starting July 11, iPhone 3G will be available at participating locations across Canada, including select Rogers Plus, Rogers Video, and Rogers Wireless retail locations and at the following specially selected authorized Rogers Wireless dealers: WirelessWave, TBooth and Wireless etc. iPhone 3G can also be purchased online at www.rogers.com and through Rogers' customer service at 1-888-764-3771. For a complete store listing, visit http://your.rogers.com/mq/mqlocator.asp. Due to anticipated high demand, there is a maximum purchase of two iPhone 3G per customer.

(*) Based on 3G and EDGE testing. Actual speeds may vary due to a variety of factors. (xx) Based on live trials of iPhone 3G on Rogers HSPA network, July 2008

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

Use Z-Shell for loop to Compact Argument List

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:20:00 -0800

The other day I pinged a number of remote workstations to observe Round Trip Times (RTT) but forgot to eliminate a few series of contiguously numbered remotes that were known to be powered-off. Needless to say, the pinging effort was taking longer than it should have -- I promptly aborted the effort. Here is an example of a compact way of performing this common task using a Z-Shell for loop.

# zsh
# for blog in {1..5} {7..13} {15..22} {27..37}
for> ping -s mysysad$blog 1024 5 [via http://esofthub.blogspot.com/]

I Dare You to Not Buy This PlayStation iPhone Case Immediately

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:20:00 -0700

Question: is this a great iPhone case, or is it the greatest iPhone case?

I'm going to go with the latter. I mean, look at it! The disc cover opens so you can put in your iPhone! It comes with a super-detailed controller charm! It's absolutely fucking adorable. And for $20 (plus $7 for the controller), I really don't know how I'm going to show the restraint to not buy one right this minute.

[Etsy via iPhone Savior]

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

Apple Starts Seeding Mac OS X 10.5.8 (9L14)

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:49:53 -0700

It seems there will be at least one more Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) update before we see Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) arrive this fall. Apple has begun seeding Mac OS X 10.5.8 (9L14) to Mac developers.

The new version of Mac OS X 10.5.8... [via http://www.macrumors.com/]

iPhoto update fixes crash, MBA firmware for new batteries

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:54:53 -0700

If you haven't fired up Software Update yet this week, iLife '09 and MacBook Air owners should take note of the latest updates for iPhoto '09 and the MacBook Air's firmware.

The just-released iPhoto 8.0.4 fixes a "rare" issue that could cause iPhoto 8.0.3 to crash after updating images imported into previous versions of iPhoto '09. Additionally, it corrects some flawed points of interest and location names included as part of the "Places" geotagging features.

Click here to read the rest of this article

[via http://arstechnica.com/]

Hello I'm a Pear, Hello I'm an Apple

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:50:00 -0700

Do the Pear Post-Its require a Registry to work and get viruses? Are the Apple Post-Its snotty and obnoxious? I don't know, I don't care. They are both pretty and will match your monitor nicely. [D-Bros via Mocoloco]

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

Remarkable Speech-to-Speech Voice Translator Coming to iPhone and Blackberry

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:20:00 -0700

Sakhr is a translation company with big clients like the U.S. Department of Defense and Homeland Security. They specialize in English/Arabic translation, and this demo of their iPhone/Blackberry app (not publicly available) looks like the Holy Grail of translation software.

You hold a button, say a phrase and the software captures the information through speech recognition. The text is then translated into either Arabic or English (in the cloud, we believe) and then read aloud so mispronunciation is not an issue.

Of course, voice recognition is one of those fabled computer advancements that's parked in a perpetual spot "right around the corner," but if this app works even with 85% accuracy, that's close enough for most tourists—even if soldiers could find the mistakes a bit more costly.

It's just too bad that Sakhr probably makes too much money off the US government to ever license the tech for those of us who'd just want to trek through Europe without a pocket dictionary. So let's go to war with France so I can visit the Eiffel Tower! [Fast Company and BusinessWire]

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

Feed my iPhone

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:48:32 -0700

A desktop, a laptop, an external hard drive, an iPhone, and me. How should I sync my iPhone? I've got a 16GB iPhone arriving tomorrow, my first one. Now I need to figure out what to do with it. Our household consists of an iMac that's primarily my husband's and a MacBook that's primarily mine. I'd prefer to manage music, apps, etc. on my laptop. However, the external hard drive that houses all our music is usually connected to the desktop, and it would be impractical to switch it back and forth between the two computers. With my old iPod, which after tomorrow will be my husband's iPod, I didn't have a problem just syncing it with the desktop, but apps and calendars and contacts complicate matters and I'd rather use my own machine.

I'm sure there a few different ways to do this. The best strategy I've been able to come up with is to get a $30 16GB USB drive and point iTunes on my laptop to the USB drive, so apps and podcasts save there, and periodically swap out the music. That seems sort of clunky. I can access the iTunes library on the laptop over our wireless network, but that doesn't help with syncing, right?

What other options should I consider? [via http://ask.metafilter.com/]

The LCARS for Mac Desktop

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Reader momoses' desktop is the answer to an often-requested customization—turning his Mac desktop into a lookalike for the computer display in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The desktop is a combination of:

GeekTool for system stats.

Weather is added via Lynx and GeekTool.

icalBuddy for calendar events.

Bowtie for controlling and displaying iTunes information.

Great job, momoses!

Want to create your own OS X desktop customization? Check out our guide to monitoring your Mac and more with GeekTool to add basic system stats and information, then learn how to add current weather and a desktop calendar with GeekTool.

Once you've created your own beautifully tweaked (and hopefully productive) desktop, post it over in the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr Group complete with a description of the programs and tweaks you used (and preferably links as well!), and we just might feature it here.

[via http://www.lifehacker.org]

iPhone 3.1 SDK Available Now

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:26:43 -0700

The 3.1 version of the iPhone SDK is available now, bringing a couple new fixes like having the OS simulator "more closely matching the device." There are also new Interface Builder, XCode and Dashcode changes. [iPhone Developer]

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

How to: Install Unofficial Apps on Your iPhone 3G or iPod Touch, Easily and Safely

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:00:00 -0800

If you want to install cool apps on your iPhone or iPod Touch for free, easily, breaking Apple-imposed limitations without breaking your warranty or Applethingie, here is the how-to guide for Mac and Windows users.

What is a jailbreak?

Jailbreaking is the process required to install applications in your iPhone or iPod touch. It is a very easy procedure. It's also safe: There are no risks in this operation*, as you can easily use iTunes to restore your iPhone or iPod touch to the default factory settings. When you do that, the iPhone will be like new.

Why jailbreak your iPhone or iPod touch from Apple's iron fist?

You should jailbreak your iPhone or iPod if you want to install really cool and useful applications that are not in the iTunes App Store. Many of these apps are a complete must for any iPhone user but are not allowed by Apple in their iTunes App Store.

This is what you can do with a phone that has been jailbroken:

? Use your iPhone as a 3G modem with your laptop.
? Record video using Cycorder.
? Unlock your iPhone installing a simple program, so you can use a pre-paid card when you go out on vacation instead of paying outrageous roaming charges.
? Follow speech turn-by-turn directions in a GPS program.
? Copy and paste (yes, copy and paste).
? Play Nintendo Entertainment System games and other emulated classic cames (like Monkey Island!)

In other words: Do it.

*WARNING* Of course, the usual do this at your own risk and we are not responsible caveats still apply, but this process is really fool proof thanks to Apple's iTunes factory reset. If you are looking to unlock your iPhone now or in the future, DON'T USE THESE INSTRUCTIONS or you won't be able to unlock it. You will need a different process, which we will explain in another How To.

Opening the backdoor (Mac Users only)

The first thing you need to do to install free apps in your iPhone or iPod is putting it into DFU mode, or Device Firmware Update mode. Don't worry, this isn't anything weird: It's what your device goes through every time you update the operating system in it. With this step, you will be making the iPhone go into this state.

This is the only long part of this tutorial because—since the 10.5.6 update—Apple has made it difficult to easily connect your Mac to a manually DFU'ed iPhone or iPod. This can be solved by replacing some USB drivers from a previous version of Mac OS X. If you have 10.5.6 installed, follow these instructions:

Step 1. To do this, you need to get yourself a free Apple Developer Connection account. Since you are using iTunes with your device, you are already almost there: Just log in with your Apple ID from here. The form will ask you to answer a couple of questions (just answer whatever you want), and you'll be done as soon as you click the Accept button.

Step 2. Now you need to download and install the drivers. Go to this page and look for this file:

IOUSBFamily-315.4-log.dmg" for Mac OS X10.5.5 Build 9F33

Once it's downloaded, disconnect ALL USB peripherals except for your Apple keyboard and Apple mouse and install the package included in the disk image.

Once you restart after the installation, you will be ready to run QuickPwn, the program that will allow you to install the applications.

Important: Once you complete the jailbreaking process, you have to restore the previous USB drivers. Go to to this page and download IOUSBFamily-327.4.0-log.dmg" for Mac OS X 10.5.6 Build 9G55, then repeat the same operation. Once you restart, Mac OS X 10.5.6 will be restored to its original state.

Freeing your iPhone or iPod touch (all users)

Here's the easiest part: Running QuickPwn. QuickPwn is a program that will easily "jailbreak" your iPhone or iPod touch. Jailbreak, as the name says, just means breaking Apple's limitations on accessing your device, allowing you put anything you want in it. This means installing any application you want, and not only the ones that Apple allows you to install.

Step 1. Download QuickPwn for Mac OS X or Windows from any of the following links:

Windows
? QuickPwn 2.2.5 for Windows: Get the official release via Torrent here.

Unofficial mirrors
? http://miphone.ca/iphone-dev/QuickPwn225-2.zip
? http://foskarulla.com/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
? http://downloads2.touch-mania.com/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
? http://www.applei.ph/devteam/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
? http://phonenews.com/phones/gsm/apple/QuickPwn225-2.zip
? http://rabstalk.bplaced.net/mirrors/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
? http://www.evil-crew.de/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
? http://daniel14.com/QuickPwn-225-2.zip

Mac OS X
? QuickPwn 2.2.5: Get the official release via Torrent here.

Unofficial mirrors
? http://iphone-dev.fgv6.net/QuickPwn_2.2.5.dmg
? http://iphone.schwarzmetall.cn/QuickPwn_2.2.5.dmg
? http://rabstalk.bplaced.net/mirrors/QuickPwn_2.2.5.dmg
? http://jmcoon.net/QuickPwn_2.2.5.dmg
? http://www.iphone-storage.de/QuickPwn_2.2.5.dmg
? http://downloads2.ipod.backshot.eu/QuickPwn_2.2.5.dmg
? http://miphone.ca/iphone-dev/QuickPwn_2.2.5.dmg

Step 2. Run QuickPwn and pick the kind of device you have: iPhone, iPhone 3G, or iPod Touch.

Step 3. Follow the instructions on the screen. QuickPwn is completely automated:

? Firstly, it will download all the necessary components from Apple on its own.

? Then the software will build a custom iPhone operating system, which includes Installer and Cydia, the two programs that will allow you to install the iPhone applications outside of the iTunes Apps Store microsystem.

? When QuickPwn asks you to enter your system password, do it. It's not malicious. It just needs this to work.

? Finally, follow the precisely timed instructions on the screen to put your device on DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode. QuickPwn will do the rest.

If something doesn't work, don't worry. Start the process again. If your device gets a bit nutty, restore it to default factory settings using iTunes, and you will be back to square one, no harm done.

Step 4. Be patient as your iPhone restarts. Once it's done, you are done too. It's fun time.

Installing the applications

This is where the fun starts. You will notice two new icons in your iPhone or iPod touch's springboard: One says "Installer" and the other says "Cydia". These are the two competing systems for installation of software. It doesn't really matter what you use to install your software. Most applications can be installed from both—there are exceptions, like xGPS, which can only be installed on Cydia—and both allow you to browse and install software from a a variety of sources.

? Browsing the catalogs. Whatever system you choose, installing applications is as easy as going through the available catalogs and picking the application you want.

? Manually adding applications. There will be times in which you will discover applications on the web which are not in the default catalogs in Cydia or Installer. Fortunately, you can add these by just entering the URL provided by the developer in the web page, a process that is referred to as "Adding a source". Here's how to do it:

In Cydia

? Click on "Manage."
? Click on "Sources."
? Click on "Edit" and then "Add."
? Enter the address in the dialog field.
? Click on "Add source."

In Installer

? Click on "Sources."
? Click on "Edit" and then "Add."
? Enter the address in the field.
? Click "Done" and get back to sources by clicking on "Sources."

And that's it. Now you can install any application you want using either program. Have fun!

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

Timezone Setting

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:01:09 -0700

Forum: AIX Posted By: KiwiP Post Time: 09-23-2008 at 02:33 PM [via http://www.unix.com/]

Postbox Email Client Gets Add-On Capabilities

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Windows/Mac: Email client and attachment aggregator Postbox shows off its Mozilla roots by adding support for add-ons—many of them out of the Thunderbird community—in its latest beta release.

Update: Apologies for the typos and incomplete headline in an earlier version, the result of an accidental publish button pushing.

Given the sheer amount of media Postbox organizes in any email account, add-ons could be an exciting possibility for Postbox, as developers write tools to make use of the images, contacts, text, and memories residing in every inbox. At the moment, though, the add-on list is limited to tweaks for minimizing to system trays, auto-reply text insertion, developer tools, and similar niche tools.

Not that these aren't a welcome addition—especially tweaks like Nostalgy, which brings in a heap of keyboard shortcuts and folder name auto-completion. But like nearly any open-source project, Postbox's extensibility and killer features will depend on the dedication and creativity of its coding community. We're eager to see what comes up.

Postbox 1.0 beta 13 is a free download for Windows and Mac systems.

[via http://www.lifehacker.org]

My Most Memorable Gadgets, By Steve Wozniak

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0700

We're kicking off our series exploring memorable gadgets from memorable people with one of the most influential tech giants: Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. – JC

OK...meaningful...here goes...

For that definition, it was probably an electronics learning kit I got for Christmas at about age 8 or 9. As I recall, it didn't teach electronics formulas or resistor codes, but was full of projects to hook up input devices like switches and output devices like buzzers and lights. It was like learning how to connect all the devices to your hi-fi, or connecting all your peripherals to a computer. It also gave me a good start toward understanding logic rules, like both switches have to be on for the light to shine, or if switch A is on, then switch B selects which light is on.

I call this one the most meaningful, because, pretty clearly to me, it preceded my other important gadgets and inspired me to like gadgets and to understand how to build some. It's like how the transistor led to the chip, which led to microprocessors, which led to personal computers. Everything goes back to the first invention, in that sense. This electronics kit gave me the understanding that made it easy to progress to large logic devices with multi-pole switches, and some relays, which then progressed to a large tic-tac-toe computer with transistors which progressed to a large adding/subtracting machine with transistors, etc.

The word 'meaningful' has the root 'meaning' which implies some emotion. In that sense, my first transistor radio, at about age 10, would fit the bill. It gave me portable music that I could listen to all night long as I slept, every night. 20 years later came the walkman, and 20 more years later came the iPod, but the real change in life, the one having the most 'meaning', was with the transistor radio.

I always wanted my own computer. With the Apple I, I now had a machine that I could program. I would never run out of things to do in my entire life. So it's a close runner up to the other two.

The gadget that has been the most attractive of attention ever is not my Segway. It's my nixie tube watch from CathodeCorner. It looks very large to other people and looks very strange. It's handmade in America too. The nixie tubes run on 140 volts on your wrist. Airport security guards who have seen every kind of watch ever made have a thrilling time with this watch.

I used to fly to Japan regularly to scour new gadgets, and always bought tons of things which were always surprising at the time, but looking back, few have special meaning. The first consumer digital camera, I think the Mavica technology, was meaningful. The first one for computers, not TV's, was the QuickTake from Apple. But in many ways, no digital camera to this day has been as good as the first Ricoh one.

The HP-35 calculator was also very meaningful in my life, as it led me to an incredible job designing for the follow-on models.

Much thanks to Woz for helping to kick off our series. Coming up soon: Phil Torrone, gadget maker and modder extraordinare.

Image credit: Sony Mav, HP Calculator

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

Photoshop Contest: Design a New iTunes Icon

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:10:00 -0700

The iTunes icon is old and busted. I mean, didn't iPods kill CDs or something? And like, 7 million of the 8 million things iTunes does have nothing to do with tunes. So let's make a new icon!

Send your best design of a new icon that really represents iTunes to me at contests@gizmodo.com with "iTunes icon" in the subject line by next Tuesday morning. Save your entries as JPGs, PNGs or GIFs and use a FirstnameLastname.jpg naming convention using whatever name you want to be credited with. On Tuesday, I'll pick the three best/most awful entries as our winners and post the rest of the best in the Gallery of Champions. Get cracking, in case something comes along and slays the iPod.

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

Safari 4 add-on roundup: updates are here

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:10:28 -0800

Now that we have had a couple of days to play with and dissect Apple's new Safari 4 beta, it's time to survey the state of its third-party add-ons and utilities. Most of the major players have already added Safari 4 support, but updates are arriving quite quickly from across Safari's third-party ecosystem. Here's a list of recently-updated add-ons that now work with the Safari 4 beta.

Click here to read the rest of this article

[via http://arstechnica.com/]

Network USB Devices

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:59:06 -0700

I need to get my external hard disks and my multifunction printer off my desk. I have a mac. I have a multi-function printer. I have 3 external hard disks. I scan lots of things. I print stuff. I run time machine. Help me move my USB peripherals to the other side of the room. I tried the Airport Extreme. Scanning functions don't work.

I've tried the Belkin Network USB Hub. Completely sucked. Froze my computer 3-4 times a DAY.

What are my options? Haven't tried wireless USB, but I'm considering it. The Belkin Network USB Hub is the perfect option - too bad it doesn't work at all. Anyone know of alternatives?

Requirements: I must be able to print. I must be able to scan. I must be able to run time machine automatically. Ideally, I'd like to plug a USB hub into my magical networking device and plug any USB device into it for access from my mac.

I have a wireless network and hot network ports available in both locations (at the computer and the area where I'd like to move the printer/drives to). [via http://ask.metafilter.com/]

MacBook Pro 2009 Review

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:20:00 -0700

You know those Microsoft laptop hunter spots? Apple may already have responded with TV spots of their own, but these MacBook Pros strike back at Microsoft better than any ad can: by doing.

Apple did two things simultaneously that are usually contradictory; they lowered the price of their entire MacBook Pro line while at the same time bumping up the specs. The 15-inch version now starts at $1699 and caps out at $2299, down from $1999 and $2499. What's even nicer is that the 13-inch MacBook—which previously didn't have a backlit keyboard or a Firewire slot or a "nicer" screen—got absorbed into the MacBook Pro family and is now virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the Pro line.

Two other things changed on the build that make the Pros more appealing to regular consumers. The replaceable battery has been swapped for the same type of lithium-polymer internal battery previously found in the 17-inch MacBook Pro, which boosts battery life at the expense of not being able to be changed out in the field. This, for the large majority of people, is a good thing. The batteries last 1000 charge cycles, which at 200/cycles a year, would last you five years. Even if you go through one charge cycle every day, you'll still make it about three years before you need to take Apple up on the $129 replacement. (The $129 includes shipping, labor and disposal of the old battery.)

In our test, the 13-inch MacBook Pro got 3:31 of battery compared to the 3:46 of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. We used the same metrics as the previous MacBook Pro test—medium brightness, Wi-Fi on, keyboard backlight on low, H.264 movie—and got about an hour more on each machine. That's a pretty incredible jump just from a change (non-user replaceable battery) that most people won't notice.

The other interesting swap is the removal of the ExpressCard slot in favor of an SD card slot. According to Apple, there was only a "single digit" amount of customers that used the ExpressCard, whereas tons of people have digital cameras or other devices that use SD. Again, for the vast majority of mainstream customers, this decision was a smart one. And if you really do need ExpressCard, you can still find it on the 17-inch MacBook Pro—which doesn't have an SD card slot.

Then we have the improved LED-backlit display, which has a 60% greater color gamut than previous version. What this means to you is that even the 13-inch MacBook Pro will have a quality display even though it's a few hundred dollars cheaper than the 15-inch. The previous 13-inch MacBook, as you saw in our review, had a screen that was obviously inferior to the Pros, and distorted very noticeably as you stepped away or viewed the screen at an angle. Not anymore. From our tests, the 13 and 15 MacBook Pros looked just about identical, and both had superior color performance compared to older machines we had around.

An even nicer picture is painted by the benchmarks. This is the first time the 15-inch has gone up over 3GHz (the CTO version), and the entire line has the ability to handle 8GB of RAM. We didn't test this 8GB configuration, but we're pretty eager to see how much faster it makes us in our daily work.

Both sets of scores are on par with the changes in specs on the new machines. Since the CPUs have been bumped up, the scores have risen to match. It also makes sense that the 2.53GHz 15-inch just about ties the 2.53GHz 13-inch from this year. The only weird drop is in the Integer section of Geekbench, where both machines this year have dropped. A change in Geekbench? A change in 10.5.7? We're not sure. But these are some good numbers nonetheless.

Although the removable latch has been exchanged for a screwed in panel, you can still get to the hard drive and RAM by removing ten screws and gently lifting off the back. The entire process should take you less than 10 minutes.

The 13-inch MacBook also has one fewer audio port, instead opting for a single audio port that supports digital in and out. If you need simultaneous in and out and don't want to go up to a 15-inch MacBook Pro, you can use a $29 USB audio adapter instead.

So is there anything bad to say about the new MacBook Pro line? No, not really. It's cheaper, faster, has more consumer-friendly features and now even has a 13-inch option for people who need slightly more portability. Those people who were waiting for the second-iteration version of a new hardware design (a pretty smart rule to follow with Apple products in general) before upgrading can safely do so now—and get a better deal in the process. [MacBook Pros]

It's cheaper, faster and has a nicer screen

SD card slot more useful than ExpressCard for vast majority of customers

MacBook Pro line now has a 13-inch option

Built-in battery means increased battery size, and that means about an hour longer battery life

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

'Incoming' iPhone App Allows You To Use Skype Over 3G and Edge

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0700

The new app "Incoming!" makes it possible to use Skype over 3G and Edge networks by turning all of your outgoing calls into incoming calls with the help of a partner desktop app.

•Turn your outgoing calls into incoming calls using the Incoming! desktop application along with the iPhone application.
•Depending on your phone plan, you can eliminate long distance charges and daytime minute fees.
•Make your own visual favorites list for fast dialing.
•Easily access contacts from your phone's address book.
•Conference calling supports up to nine callers.
•Supports international calling.
•This app also works with an iTouch by routing the incoming call to a nearby phone.

I have to admit, that sounds pretty awesome if it works properly. You can check it out for yourself in the App Store right now for $5. [TerryDemco and iTunes]

New iPhone Application Allows You to Use Skype Over 3G and Edge Networks

Users can harness the power of Skype without the WiFi VoIP restrictions by turning every call into and incoming call.

MIAMI, FL ? June 16, 2009 ? Terry Demco, developer of Apple iPhone/iTouch applications, today announces the release of his newest app, Incoming! for Skype. With Incoming!, every call becomes an incoming call with the assistance of a partner application that's downloaded onto the users main computer. By using a helper app on a computer that's connected to the internet, it allows Skype to work on the 3G or Edge network, thus eliminating VoIP restrictions. Incoming! is now available in all iTunes stores around the world for $4.99 US. More information can be found at www.terrydemco.com.

Just the facts:

* Turn your outgoing calls into incoming calls using the Incoming! desktop application along with the iPhone application.
* Depending on your phone plan, you can eliminate long distance charges and daytime minute fees.
* Make your own visual favorites list for fast dialing.
* Easily access contacts from your phone's address book.
* Conference calling supports up to nine callers.
* Supports international calling.
* This app also works with an iTouch by routing the incoming call to a nearby phone

Requirements:

* Mac OS X 10.5 or Vista
* Skype version 2.8 (Mac) or Skype version 4.0 (PC) on your main computer
* Current SkypeOut account
* Main computer must have internet connection

[via http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/]

sagem f@st 3304 with unknown root password

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:00:52 -0700

Forum: UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users Posted By: sepultur6079745 Post Time: 09-27-2008 at 06:50 AM [via http://www.unix.com/]

Windows 7 Versus Mac OS X Leopard: The Feature-by-Feature Showdown

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:00:32 -0700

Now that we know Windows 7 will go on sale October 22nd and the feature-complete release candidate is available as a free download, it's time to put it through its paces: as compared to the current state of the Mac.

Oh, I know: the Mac versus PC debate is so played out. Perhaps, but dumb commercials aside, if you're deciding between buying a Mac or a PC in the coming months, it helps to know what you're getting from one or the other. I use both a Mac and a PC every day of the week, and both systems have their strong and weak points.

Note that I'm basing my observations on the Windows 7 Ultimate Release Candidate 1 (Build 7100) and Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.7. You could argue that I really should be comparing Windows 7 to the upcoming Snow Leopard, and you'd be right. If I had a copy of Snow Leopard to run I'd do that. Alas. As always, take all comments salted with a few grains of "this is all one person's opinion" and "what I should get depends on what I need." Also, remember to breathe. Let's do this.

Mac Finder versus Windows Explorer—A Draw

I've always thought that the default interface for dealing with files in every major operating system could improve, and given both Windows 7 and Mac OS X Leopard, I still feel that way. Both Finder and Windows Explorer offer pretty much the same features, with a few exceptions (like Finder's Sidebar and Places, and now Windows 7's Libraries). Still, I want a tabbed interface and Quicksilver-y file manipulation built into my OS, and neither Explorer or Finder offers that. Since I'm pretty "meh" on both of these, we're calling this one a draw.

Leopard's Quick Look versus Windows File Preview—Winner: Quick Look

The one feature of Leopard's Finder which is super-useful for most common document types is Quick Look. Select a file, tap the keyboard, and bang, you're peering into the contents of a file, whether it's a Word document, PDF, or image. In Windows 7 Explorer you can hit the Alt+P keyboard combination to preview the contents of a file in an embedded panel inside the Explorer interface (too small). This preview feature doesn't support nearly the amount of filetypes that Quick Look does and lacks Quick Look's separate window resizing and paging capabilities.

Windows Taskbar versus Mac Dock—Winner: Windows 7 Taskbar

The new Windows 7 taskbar is no doubt the best improvement interface-wise to your system. Now you can pin programs to your taskbar (ironically, Dock-style), but you've also got jumplists and Aero Peek rollover previews (which work for multiple windows AND tabs) and the ever-handy Show Desktop button that pulls the taskbar ahead of Mac's Dock. In the Dock's defense, the Windows 7 taskbar does lack a Stacks equivalent.

Windows System Tray vs Mac Menu Bar—Winner: Windows 7 System Tray

The Mac menu bar is an odd bird: it's fixed to the top of your Mac's screen with no easy way to hide it, and programs affix their icons there without asking you (or by burying the option to hide them somewhere in the individual program's preferences). The default date and time display isn't that informative, either. Compared to Windows 7's one-click full calendar, and your ability to easily customize what icons live there in one place, Windows 7 takes this one. (See more about that icon customization in item #6 in the top 10 things to look forward to in Windows 7.)

Leopard's Time Machine vs Windows Backup—Winner: Leopard's Time Machine

Not too much has changed with Windows 7's built-in backup utility: it's a plain old wizard that asks you to choose a backup drive, choose the files you want to back up (along with an option to make an OS system image), and set the schedule. It's buried somewhere in the Control Panel and the whole business of using it is boring and easy to ignore. But Leopard's Time Machine? Nothing beats its dead-simple setup and over-animated but really-fun restore interface.

Windows 7 Aero Peek versus ? (Not Quick Look or Stacks)—Winner: Aero Peek

I admit it: I'm currently deep in a love affair with Windows 7's Aero Peek feature, which does all this beautiful thumbnail previewing and window clearing and docking—but not in an overwrought, show-offy way, more in a smooth, utilitarian, why-doesn't-every-computer-do-this way. Currently Mac OS X doesn't offer a feature that one could compare to Aero Peek. While Windows 7 set its sights on making window management cleaner, Leopard tackled file previews in Quick Look and Stacks. By default, Aero Peek wins this one.

Update: Reader OMG! Memez! (Dafrety) rightfully points out that you could kinda-sorta compare Aero Peek to Leopard's Exposé. Even doing that, Aero Peek still wins, hands down.

We Could Go On...

We've hit on the biggies already, but the list of items one could compare between Windows 7 and Leopard goes on. There's Safari 4 versus Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player 12 versus iTunes/Front Row, Leopard's Boot Camp versus Windows 7 XP Mode (though that's not exactly apples to apples), Windows User Account Control versus Leopard's user security, and Windows Search versus Spotlight, update: as well as Bonjour versus Windows Homegroup (thanks mynamesafad).

Also, both operating systems boast more features that don't have direct parallels, like Leopard's extra utilities (e.g. Preview and iChat), Spaces, and Windows 7's themes, built-in software uninstaller, games, and multi-touch support. Of course, no Mac versus Windows article would be complete without mentioning that more games and viruses exist for Windows than for Mac.

Now it's democracy's turn: vote on as many of the features listed here, on either operating system, that impress you the most.

Time to discuss in the comments, where I present you with a challenge: try to make an intelligent remark that doesn't include the suggestion to "upgrade" to Linux, and doesn't draw a conclusion about either operating system without a reasoned argument or supporting facts. Can we do it? Let's try! Post your thoughts in the comments.

Gina Trapani, Lifehacker's founding editor, is confident in this community's abilit to have a productive Mac versus Windows discussion. Her weekly feature, Smarterware, appears every Wednesday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Smarterware tag feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

[via http://www.lifehacker.org]

Debian Sarge Ends Tour of Linux Duty

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:30:18 -0700

internetnews.com: "The Debian GNU / Linux distribution has announced the eighth and final update to the Debian 3.1 Sarge release. Time sure does fly..." [via http://www.linuxtoday.com/]

La Zona Muerta.

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:07:37 -0700

I came home yesterday to find that we've now got internet in our house - great. The only problem is, though I'm able to get a perfect signal in the sitting room, which is where the wireless router is situated, if I go the five metres or so from there to my bedroom, the connection rapidly deteriorates to the point that I can't even open Metafilter. I'm running a Macbook with a fully-udated version of Tiger, so what gives? I should mention that the signal bar is FULL, even in the bedroom. However, though there's a long list of wireless networks that appear when I'm in the sitting room, this list dwindles to five or six once I get to my room. It's unusual because I *always* seem to pick up a signal when other people are unable. I used to be under the impression that my Mac had been gifted with an overly potent Wifi card. And now this?

I live in a fairly old suburban Barcelona apartment block. In between the sitting room and the bedroom are a lavatory and kitchen. To my knowledge, my room is not lined with lead.

One suggestion I read from someone was to ensure the router is broadcasting on a specific channel, as opposed to auto. I just checked, though, and it's connected to Channel 6.

I'd appreciate any help. [via http://ask.metafilter.com/]

Install OS X on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required [How To]

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:00:00 -0800

Two months ago I walked through how to build a Hackintosh Mac on the cheap using PC parts. Since that post, the OSx86 scene has changed rapidly, and now you can install Leopard on your computer about as easily as installing Leopard on a Mac—no command line hacking required. In addition, the resulting installation is—theoretically, at least—can be upgraded without fear of breaking. As if the simplicity of the installation weren't already enough, the new installation tools fix any problems I've had in the past (for example, I no longer need to keep my install DVD in the drive to boot into OS X), and support the Wi-Fi card on my motherboard out-of-the-box. In short, it's a winner.

NOTE: I can only vouch for this method on the build I detailed in the original post, but others have had a lot of luck with other boards, as well. If you're thinking of starting from scratch and want to follow exactly how I did it, check out the Build section of my original guide. If you've got your system together, here's how it works.

Set Your BIOS

The most difficult part of getting this installation to work with my board was getting the right BIOS settings in place. In the course of figuring it out, I made a lot of different small tweaks, so to ensure I didn't miss any, I've taken pictures of every relevant BIOS screen. If you're using the same board as me (an Asus P5W DH Deluxe), just go through screen by screen and make sure that your BIOS settings match mine. If you're using a different board, these settings could still serve as a good guide, but they may not perfectly match up to yours. (I'm having a tough time remembering every BIOS setting I tweaked, so if you're using a P5W DH Deluxe, your BIOS settings match mine, but you're having trouble, let me know and I'll try updating the gallery with more BIOS screens.)

Now that you're BIOS are set, it's time to install.

Install OS X with the Kalyway Install Disc

Floating around the BitTorrents, you'll find a disc image called something like Kalyway Leopard 10.5.1 SSE2 SSE3. Download it and burn it to a DVD—it's what you'll use to install Leopard. If you're going to pursue this I'd still recommend purchasing an actual copy of Leopard, but you won't need it here.

Basically this DVD contains the Leopard install disc along with the EFI software that lets your hardware work with OS X using the vanilla kernels—which is a big part of why you don't have to do any of the command line hacking this time around. You just install the disc and voilà—everything boots up and upgrades normally (or at least that's been my experience so far). So assuming you've built your computer using the original instructions, you've got the Kalyway disc, and you've already prepared your BIOS, you're ready to install.

First, boot with the disc. The disc boot up can take a few minutes, so you'll need to be patient.

Before you go ahead with the installation you need to format your hard drive, so once the disc boots, go to Utilities -> Disk Utility in the menu bar. Find the hard drive in the sidebar you want to install Leopard to, select it, then go to the Partition tab, and select a 1 partition volume scheme, name it whatever you want (I called mine Leopard), and choose the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Now click the Options button to set the partition scheme. You can choose the partition scheme as either Master Boot Record or GUID (in my previous instructions you needed to set it as MBR). I used GUID.

Click Apply, let it complete the partitioning, and then quit Disk Utility and head back to the Installer. Hit Continue at the Welcome screen, agree to the terms, and then be sure to hit the Customize button before proceeding with your installation. Here's where the point-and-click magic of this installer comes in.

This install package comes with individual settings that match specific motherboards, and one very well supported board is the P5W DH Deluxe I used in the original build. Rather than telling you which checkboxes to tick, just click the screenshot above for a look at all the settings you'll want to use if you're installing OS X on that board.

When you're all set, click Done and then go ahead and Install. When the installation is complete (it'll take a little while), let your computer restart, pop out the install disc, and sit back in wonder as Leopard runs on your PC in full 10.5.1 glory.

If you've been living the Hackintosh life since our first guide, let's hear how it's worked out for you so far in the comments.

[via http://www.lifehacker.org]

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

[via ]